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Showing posts from January 23, 2015


Importance of Yellow Color on Basant Panchami and Saraswati Puja

During Basant Panchami and Saraswati Puja the color yellow is given great importance as it signifies the ripening of fruits and crops during spring season. Yellow also stands for prosperity and love. Yellow color is also associated with learning and knowledge. Gods and Goddesses in home and temples are decorated with yellow colored clothes. Yellow colored food and sweets are distributed on the day. The murtis of Goddess Saraswati that are sold during the period are also adorned with Yellow colored saris.

About Goddess Hemambika

Goddess Hemambika is a form of Mother Goddess Shakti. She is a minor manifestation and is more sort of a regional deity. In this form, Mother Goddess Devi or Durga is of golden color. Hema here refers to Golden hue.  Temples dedicated to Goddess Hemambika are found in South India . In Kerala, the worship is unique, as only the hands of Goddess can be seen. Legend has it that once the priest at a Hemambika temple looked with sexual desire at the beautiful form of the Goddess. An angry Goddess concealed herself in water and never appeared again. The murti worshipped in the temple is in the form of hands coming out of a well. Some of the other legends have it that the complete manifestation was not possible due to the impatience of her devotees. Before the complete manifestation devotees jumped into a lake to touch her hands and she disappeared with only hands emerging from the lake. One of the popular temples dedicated to this form of Goddess Shakti is the Kallekulangara

Shukravar Vrat or Upvaas: Friday Dedicated to Santhoshi Ma and Shukra or Venus

In Hindu religion, each day of a week is dedicated to a particular God or Goddesses. Friday or Shukrawar is dedicated to Shakti – the Mother Goddess in Hinduism – and Shukra or Venus. One of the most important Vrat or Upvaas (fast) on the day is dedicated to Santhoshi Matha (an incarnation of Shakti). The fasting is also known as ‘Solah Shukravar Vrats because a devotee fasts for 16 consecutive Fridays. White color is given importance on Friday. Another deity that is propitiated on the day is Shukra, who is known to provide joy and material wealth. The period of Shukra in one’s astrological chart is considered to be most productive and luckily period. Worship of Shakti – Durga, Kali and other forms – on Friday is considered highly auspicious. Shakti temples in India attract large number of devotees on this day. Devotees wear white colored dress on this day. The fasting on Shukravar begins at sunrise and ends with sunset. The person fasting only partakes in the evenin

Lakshmi Devi Yatra at Manjari near Chikodi in Karnataka

Lakshmi Devi Yatra is annually observed at Manjari near Chikodi in Karnataka. The important rituals are held at the Lakshmi Devi Temple at Manjari. Lakshmi Devi Yatra 2025 date is February 3. The festival attracts hundreds of people arrive to the Goddess Lakshmi Devi Mandir. Important rituals and prayers are held on the day. Lakshmi Devi Yatra is annually observed on Magh Shukla Paksha Sashti Tithi or the sixth day during the waxing phase of moon in Magh month as per traditional Hindu lunar calendar followed in Karnataka .

New Hindu pilgrimage circuit linking ancient temples and sacred places in Northeast India

Government of India is planning a new Hindu pilgrimage circuit linking ancient temples and sacred place in Northeast India with established pilgrimage circuits like Mathura and Gujarat . Plans include to the link Vaishnav tradition of Manipur, Shaiva tradition of Tripura and the three Shakti peeths — Kamakhya in Assam , Jayanti in Meghalaya and Tripura Sundari in Tripura. The Indian Express reports  A grand plan to reassert the Hindu roots of the Northeast states is afoot as the government is preparing to map a new Hindu pilgrimage circuit by linking ancient temples and other places in the region that are mentioned in mythology. Sources said the Shiva temple at Umananda, the world’s smallest river island in Assam , would also be showcased. According to mythology, Krishna ’s consort Rukmini was from a local tribe in Arunachal Pradesh. The state’s pilgrimage site of Parasuram Kund and its old tribes which worship Krishna are also expected to find a place in the new circuit. 

Pandit Rajmani Tigunait on Reincarnation

Excerpts from an article on Reincarnation by Pandit Rajmani Tigunait We are born to become the creator of our own destiny. Because we have the capacity to conceive the idea of past, present, and future, as well as the capacity to see the connection between cause and effect, we have the ability to bring a desirable change in life here and hereafter. Those who use this capacity to their advantage are destined to reincarnate, while those who are careless remain subject to rebirth.  Individuals who reincarnate are able to descend only because they once ascended. They rose above the world of short-lived pleasure and pain. They clearly saw the transient nature of worldly objects and achievements. They realized the value of life and made a sincere effort to free themselves from the bondage of samsara. They cultivated a clear, calm, and tranquil mind, sharpened their intellect, and acquired the power of discernment. They concluded that their body and senses are tools to identify and awak